Would You Want To Buy Your Next Car From Amazon?

Last year, Amazon and Hyundai teamed up to make the car buying experience a little less painful. Amazon Prime users could schedule a test drive of a Hyundai Elantra without having to go to the dealership. It was an ambitious idea to make car shopping easier, but only offering one car limited its potential. According to Automotive News, Amazon is now looking to expand its presence in the auto industry by selling cars in Europe. The tech giant has been recruiting experts from the auto industry to help it achieve this goal.

One of Amazon's first hires was Christoph Moeller, a partner at the Oliver Wyman consultancy. Moeller was in charge of consulting for the auto industry at his firm until last February when he was recruited by Amazon. Amazon's new business will be run from Luxembourg and will start by selling cars in the UK. An automotive consultant told Automobilwoche that “[Amazon] has been luring experts with fat pay packages for some time.” An auto executive said that Amazon is also exerting “massive pressure to add yet another supporting pillar to the market in the form of test drives.” In some markets, people can now use Amazon to schedule test drives of Mercedes-Benz cars.

Amazon declined to comment about its operations in Europe, so it is still unclear whether the company will sell used cars or simply stick to new models. Amazon already sells the Fiat 500 and Panda on its Italian site, and even includes leases. We would love to see a company like Amazon come in and make car buying easier. People hate going to car dealerships, so Amazon could revolutionize the auto industry if it's successful here.